The inventions disclosed herein generally relate to methods for processing natural fruit for baking and other diverse uses and, more particularly, is concerned with methods for processing raw fruit to produce enhanced products and fruit pieces produced by the methods.
Raw fruit, such as a cranberry, is a primary source of wholesome ingredients for many food and health products, with baked products being a well-known one. Baking trades typically make use of either a natural whole or sliced cranberry fruit, or a sweetened and dried cranberry (SDC), which is sugar infused and in a dehydrated state after a substantial portion of the juice has been removed.
However, one problem with utilization of a natural whole or sliced cranberry fruit for bakeries is the presence of a high acid concentration which, when used in baking, can result in an off-flavor to baked cranberry products, and may also affect the baking properties of the batter and its ingredients. A second problem relates to the high moisture content of the cranberry fruit whereby juices can weep into the bakery product and affect baking properties. This is an impediment to expansion of the market for inclusion of a natural cranberry fruit in baked products.
If bakeries want to utilize cranberries without the problems associated with high acid concentration, they have to utilize a highly processed sweetened and dried cranberry, SDC, whereby nearly all the juice and acid are removed from the fruit piece. Many of the natural characterizations of cranberry are lost in the manufacture of an SDC. These processes can include the processing of the cranberry into a sweetened and dried cranberry whereby a significant portion of the juice and acid is removed, a high concentration of sugar is infused (up to 70%) and then the cranberry is typically dried to moisture levels below 15% to make it a shelf-stable product. These further processes can diminish the flavor and degrade the character and palatability of the cranberry piece from that of its original natural state.
Consequently, a need exists for an innovation that will provide a solution to the aforementioned problems or shortcomings in the processing of raw fruit, such as a cranberry, for the baking trades without introducing any new problems in place thereof.